Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak

UNESCO World Heritage Site
Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Type Cultural
Criteria i, iii, iv
Reference 44
UNESCO region Europe
Coordinates 42°37′33″N 25°23′57″E / 42.62576°N 25.39919°E / 42.62576; 25.39919Coordinates: 42°37′33″N 25°23′57″E / 42.62576°N 25.39919°E / 42.62576; 25.39919
Inscription history
Inscription 1979 (3rd Session)

The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak (Bulgarian: Казанлъшка гробница, Kazanlǎška grobnica) is a vaulted-brickwork "beehive" (tholos) tomb near the town of Kazanlak in central Bulgaria.

The tomb is part of a large Thracian necropolis. It comprises a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The monument dates back to the 4th century BCE and has been on the UNESCO protected World Heritage Site list since 1979. The murals are memorable for the splendid horses and for a gesture of farewell, in which the seated couple grasp each other's wrists in a moment of tenderness and equality (according to Lyudmila Zhivkova—a view that is not shared by all specialists). The paintings are Bulgaria's best-preserved artistic masterpieces from the Hellenistic period.

The tomb is situated near the ancient Thracian capital of Seuthopolis in a region where more than a thousand tombs of kings and members of the Thracian aristocracy can be found.

To preserve the sensitive paintings, the tomb is not open to the public; a full-size replica was built nearby.[1]

The seated woman of the murals is depicted on the reverse of the Bulgarian 50 stotinki coin issued in 2005.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Bulgaria Travel
  2. ↑ Bulgarian National Bank. Notes and Coins in Circulation: 50 stotinkas. – Retrieved on 26 March 2009.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.